Module IV

Programming Embedded Systems

 CONTENTS
 Components of embedded programs
 Models of program
 multi-tasking and task scheduling
 timing specifications
 run-time exception handling
 analysis and optimization of execution time,
 analysis and optimization of energy and
power
 Analysis and optimization of program size
 program validation and testing
 COMPONENTS FOR EMBEDDED PROGRAMS
 There are three structures or components
that are commonly used in embedded
software:
state machine: well suited to reactive
systems such as user interfaces
circular buffer: useful in digital signal
processing
queue: useful in digital signal processing
 State Machines
• In some systems inputs appear intermittently rather than
as periodic samples
• Some systems are reacting to those inputs
• The reaction of most systems based on the input received
and the current state of the system.
• Therefore the reactive system’s behavior can be
described based on finite-state machine style.
• The state machine style of programming is an efficient
implementation of computations in embedded system.
• Finite-state machines are usually first encountered in the
context of hardware design.
 The behavior implementation of simple seat
belt controller
• The controller’s job is to turn on a buzzer if a person sits in a
seat and does not fasten the seat belt within a fixed amount
of time
• This system has three inputs and one output
• The inputs are a sensor for the seat to know when a person
has sat down
• seat belt sensor that tells when the belt is fastened, and a
timer that goes off when the required time interval has
elapsed.
• The output is the buzzer. Appearing below is a state
diagram that describes the seat belt controller’s behavior.
The behavior implementation of simple seat
belt controller
• IDLE 0----- The idle state is in force when there is
no person in the seat.
• SEATED 1 ---When the person sits down, the
machine goes into the seated state and turns on
the timer.
• BELTED 2---- If the seat belt goes on first, it enters
the belted state.
• BUZZER 3---If the timer goes off before the seat
belt is fastened, the machine goes into the buzzer
state.
• When the person leaves the seat, the machine
goes back to idle state.
 Stream-Oriented Programming and Circular Buffers
• The circular buffer is a data structure that lets us
handle streaming data in an efficient way.
• At each point in time, the algorithm needs a subset of
the data stream that forms a window into the stream.
• The window slides with time as we throw out old
values no longer needed and add new values.
• Since the size of the window does not change, we can
use a fixed-size buffer to hold the current data.
• The buffer points to the location at which the next
sample will be placed, which is the one that needs to
be thrown out.
• When the pointer gets to the end of the buffer, it
wraps around to the top.
Efficient implementation of a circular buffer.
 Queues
• Queues are also used in signal processing and event
processing
• Queues are used whenever data may arrive and depart at
somewhat unpredictable times
• A queue is often referred to as an elastic buffer.
• One way to build a queue is with a linked list
• This approach allows the queue to grow to an arbitrary size.
• But in many applications we are unwilling to pay the price of
dynamically allocating memory.
• Another way to design the queue is to use an array to hold all
the data.
• We used a circular buffer in Previous Example to manage
interrupt-driven data; here we will develop a non-interrupt
version.
• As our initialization code shows, we initialize
them to the same position.
• As we add a value to the tail of the queue, we
will increment tail.
• Similarly, when we remove a value from the
head, we will increment head.
• When we reach the end of the array, we must
wrap around these values
example when we add a value into the last element
of q, the new value of tail becomes the 0th entry of
the array.
MODELS OF PROGRAMS
• Fundamental model for programs is the
control/data flow graph(CDFG).
• CDFG has constructs that model both data
operations (arithmetic and other computations)and
control operations(conditionals).
• Part of the power of the CDFG comes from
its combination of control and data
constructs.
 Data Flow Graphs
• A data flow graph is a model of a program with no conditionals.
• In a high-level programming language, a code segment with no
conditionals.
• Precisely, with only one entry and exit point—is known as a basic
block.
• As the C code is executed, we would enter this basic block at the
beginning and execute all the statements.
• The data flow graph, we use two types of nodes in the graph—
1) Round nodes denote operators and
2) Square nodes represent values.
• The value nodes may be either inputs to the basic block, such as a
and b, or variables assigned to within the block, such as w and x1.
• The data flow graph for the code makes the order in which the
operations are performed in the C code
An extended data flow graph for our sample basic block.
Standard data flow graph for our sample basic block.
 Advantages Of The Data flow Graph
• Reduce pipeline or cache conflicts.
• We can also use it when the exact order of
operations simply doesn’t matter
• The data flow graph defines a partial ordering of
the operations in the basic block.
 Control/Data Flow Graphs

• A CDFG uses a data flow graph as an element, adding constructs

to describe control.
• In a basic CDFG, we have two types of nodes
1) Decision nodes and
2) Data flow nodes.
• A data flow node encapsulates a complete data flow graph to
represent a basic block.
• We can use one type of decision node to describe all the types of
control in a sequential program.
• The jump/branch is, after all, the way we implement all those
high-level control constructs.
• The rectangular nodes in the graph
represent the basic blocks.
• The diamond-shaped nodes represent the
conditionals.
• The node’s condition is given by the
label,
• The edges are labeled with the possible
outcomes of evaluating the condition.
CDFG(Control/Data Flow Graphs )
C code
CDFG for a while loop
• The CDFG is not necessarily tied to high-level
language control structures.
• We can also build a CDFG for an assembly
language program.
• A jump instruction corresponds to a nonlocal
edge in the CDFG.
• Some architectures, such as ARM and many
VLIW processors, support predicated execution
of instructions, which may be represented by
special constructs in the CDFG.